Wardrobe



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES HENRY THEODORE OLAUS, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

WARDROBE,

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 363,595, dated May 24, 1887.

Serial No. 184,001. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES HENRY Tnno DORE OLAUs, of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Wardrobes, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification, andaccomp'anying drawings, in which' Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved wardrobe. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical central section; Fig. 3, a vertical crosssection; Fig. 4, aside view of the device with the lower case opened ontwardly,showing one of the upper apartments somewhat lowered,- Fig. 5, a view of thctiexible pendent racks, and Fig. 6 is a detail, partly in section, to show the means for raising or lowering the post.

WVardrobes as usually constructed can only be made of a certain height in view of the fact that if made higher the upper parts are of no account because of the difiiculty of reaching that part of the device, and consequently in order to obtain sufficient room their plan section must be enlarged accordingly. My improved wardrobe is designed to remedy these defects by providing a structure considerably higher in proportion to its plan section, and formed with an adjustable top or deck piece secured in position beneath thevceiling of the room by means of a central post adjustable by means of screws, and around the said deckplate the upper ends of the sides of the wardrobe, having on one side within aseries of independent compartments entirely filling it,

thelower one provided with shelves and hinged laterally and so disposed as to be opened outwardly, while those above have cords or pulleys attached thereto, so that they may be raised or lowered when the loweroneis swung outwardly. This permits of the upper ones being lowered when it is desired to place within or remove articles from them, while the other side is provided with a series of rope or other flexible racks that may also be raised and lowered by means of pulleys at the top of the device, and thus the entire inner part of the wardrobe used without reference to the vertical height of the same, which would not be possible in a wardrobe as ordinarily constructed, all of which will now befully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents a wardrobe-frame, formed higher in proportion to the plan section than the ordinary wardrobe. The front side is provided with the usual doors, B, and the end provided with two doors, (3, independent of each other and one above the other, as shown in Fig. 1. Gen trally within this device I havea post, D, provided at its upper part with atop ceiling-piece or deck-plate, E,which is designed to rest be'-- neath the ceiling of the room, and the post D is to be of such a length as to press the said deck'plate upwardly against the said ceiling, and thus hold it securely in position, and in order that this may be effective the lower end of the said post is provided with ascrew,d,which fits into a base-block, D, or any desired seat. The post can now be easily turned by hand or by a tool, so that any desired tension may be obtained upon the post, and thus the top-piece E can be pressed as closely against the ceiling as desired. This deck-plate being secured in position,the side casing or frame of the wardrobe is securely attached thereto by means of scrcws,so that the entire device is thus held permanently in position wherever it may be stationed. This post D may be provided with aseries of hooks, F, for the reception of articles of wear. At one side of this post D, occupying one part of the wardrobe, I provide a series of shelved compartments. Two of these cases or compartments G are placed in the upper part of the wardrobe and are sus pended in position by means of a cord, H, ex-

tending over a pulley, I, secured to the lower face of the deck-piece E, so that the said compartments may be raised or lowered into position. Beneath these compartments G, and at the lower part of the wardrobe, I provide a single case or compartment, J, hinged laterally to the side of the wardrobe, as shown at K, and so disposed that it may be opened outwardly, as shown in Fig. 4. This permits of the upper compartments, G, beingloweredinto the position occupied by the lower compartment, J, when the said lowercompartmentisin position, and thus either of the compartments G can be reached. Afterward these compartments G may be returned to their original position in the top of the wardrobe and secured there by means of a cord, being tied orsecure'l y attached to any suitable point in the side of the wardrobe. These compartments G and J may either have a series of shelves, L, therein or without them, as desired, for the reception of larger articles of wear; but I prefer them with the usual shelving.

In the opposite side of the wardrobe the compartment M has a series of flexible-rope racks, N, attached to the deck-frame E by means of pulleys O, as shown in Fig. 2, which permits of their being raised and lowered. To these ropes are fixed the cross-rods 72-, provided with hooks n, for the reception of articles of different kinds and sizes, such as coats, &c., which cannot be conveniently stowed away in the compartments G and J. These flexible ropes N are shown in Fig. 5.

It is obvious that any number of racks N may be used in the, device, and so I do not limit myself to any special number; and it is also obvious that the same may be said of the adjustable compartments G and J Ihe principal feature of the device, as will be noticed, consists in the knockdown qualities of the frame-work, with the supporting-post centrally, and the adjustable racks and compartments, so that the wardrobe may take up the entire height of the room and thus greatly add to the capacity of the device,

At times it is necessary to place the ward robe in a room having a higher ceiling than the room for which it was expressly designed,

7 otherwise attached to the sides of the wardrobe-frame, and thus the height of the ward. robe is adjusted to various rooms.

Having described my invention,whatI claim is' 1. In a knockdown wardrobe, a ceilingpiece or deck-plate, combined with a post, which constitutes its central support, and havin g at its lower end a screw whereby said piece or plate can be adjusted to any desired height, substantially as described.

2. In combination with a wardrobe, the flexible-rope racks N, having crossrods a, provided with hook at, and pulleys 0, whereby said racks can be suitably adjusted for the reception of articles of clothing, substantially as described.

3. A knockdown wardrobe provided'with adjustable ceiling or top piece, whereby the wardrobe can be made to fit snugly between the floor and ceiling in a room of any height.

4. The combination, in a knockdown wardrobe, of a pair of shelved compartments, G, in the upper part of the wardrobe, adj ustable vertically by means of cords attached to the upper part of the said compartments extending over pulleys secured to the deckframe, and beneath the said compartments a third compartment, J, hinged laterally to the side of the wardrobe, so as to be opened out.- wardly and thus permit of the upper shelves, G, being lowered so as to be accessible, substantially as herein set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, this 30th day of October, 1885, in the presence of witnesses.

CHARLES HENRY 'JHEODORE CLAUS.

Witnesses:

O. D. GREENE, Jr., ARTHUR KANN, 

